•Blue House lounge was a brothel that operated in Tamuning from 2004 to 2008.

•The brothel lured women from the Federal States of Micronesia to Guam by promising high-paying waitressing jobs, then forced the women into prostitution.

•Song Ja Cha, the brothel owner, was convicted of 20 federal crimes, all related to human trafficking and prostitution. Cha was sentenced to life in federal prison.

•Cha would control her victims through physical violence, withholding food, monitoring phones and threatening to have the women arrested. She confiscated their passports shortly after they arrived and forced them to take birth control shots.

•During Cha's trial, a federal prosecutor alleged police officers were used as "tools" and "weapons" to control the Blue House victims.

•Blue House supervisor Freda Eseun testified that three police officers frequented the brothel and were friends with Cha.

•One officer, David Manila, testified that he had sex with a Blue House employee after buying a "ladies drink." An internal police investigation later found that Manila was abetting prostitution. He was allowed to keep his job and remain on the force.

•After a series of Pacific Daily News stories on the case, the Guam Police Department re-opened the investigation into the Blue House in October. Police investigators worked in tandem with the The Office of the Attorney General.

•About a week ago, three police officers are arrested: Officers David Manila, Anthony Quenga, and Mario Laxamana. They have since been indicted on a slew of charges.

Pacific Daily News

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Blue House lounge owner Song Ja Cha appeared briefly in the Superior Court of Guam yesterday afternoon, where defense attorney Jeff Moots spoke on her behalf, pleading not guilty to all charges against her.

She pleaded not guilty to: nine counts of felonious restraint as a third-degree felony; nine counts of compelling prostitution as a third-degree felony; 12 counts of promoting prostitution as a third-degree felony; two counts of aggravated assault as a third-degree felony; and one count of assault as a misdemeanor.

The charges are related to alleged activity at the lounge, which actually was a brothel where regional immigrant women were forced into prostitution. Cha already is serving a life sentence in federal prison for sex trafficking.

The local charges against Cha, originally filed in 2008, have been changed twice during the past month. Three indicted Guam police officers were added as co-defendants in the case, then charges against all the defendants were revised again, in an indictment made public on Nov. 26.

Co-defendant Freda Eseun, a supervisor at the lounge, faces one count of aggravated assault as a third-degree felony. Police officers David Manila, Anthony Quenga and Mario Laxamana face charges related to prostitution, felonious restraint, kidnapping and official misconduct. Manila and Quenga also face charges related to criminal sexual conduct.

Judge Anita Sukola said Cha is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 2, and a hearing will be held Dec. 24 relative to all motions.

Sukola noted there are two outstanding motions to dismiss the case against some defendants, filed by defense attorneys Peter Perez and Leevin Camacho.

Perez and Camacho, who represent indicted officers Laxamana and Quenga, respectively, have argued the charges should be dismissed because their clients were not brought before a judge within 48 hours of their arrest, and the statute of limitations on the alleged crimes has expired.